Looper details

Finally, I'm able to give you the details on the Brewers' deal with right-hander Braden Looper.

He will draw a salary of $4.75 million this year, with another $750,000 available in incentives for starts made, beginning at 19 and ending at 30. There is a mutual option for 2010 for $6 million. If the Brewers exercise the option, Looper has the right to decline it and go back out on the free agent market.

If the Brewers decline the option, they owe Looper a $1 million buyout if he makes 30 starts or pitches 180 innings, and $750,000 if he doesn't reach those levels. If Looper makes 30 starts in '09, the option salary kicks up to $6.5 million.

Brewers GM Doug Melvin said no official decision has been made about the rotation yet but indicated Seth McClung probably would go back to bullpen duty.

"McClung was never necessarily in the rotation," said Melvin. "He was an option."

Obviously, the Brewers want to discuss it with McClung first before saying anything official.

As for dropping catcher Vinny Rottino from the 40-man roster, Melvin said it wasn't an easy choice. He noted the Brewers have Jason Kendall and Mike Rivera back at the big-league level and Angel Salome to catch at Class AAA Nashville but added, "You always have to be careful about injuries."

Earlier in the day, the Brewers dropped reliever Luis Pena from the 40-man roster to make room for right-hander Nick Green, claimed on waivers from the Angels. Green has two options left and therefore will provide more starting depth, along with recently acquired Chase Wright, at Nashville.

In essence, the Brewers switched a reliever for a starter at the Class AAA level.

Melvin noted that Rottino and Pena aren't necessarily out of the organization yet. The Brewers have 10 days to trade them, release them or get them to agree to a minor-league assignment. We'll see if either gets claimed on waivers first.

I just spoke to Braden Looper. I'll pass along some quotes from him in a later blog.

About Tom Haudricourt

Tom Haudricourt covers the Brewers and Major League Baseball. He was voted Wisconsin Sports Writer of Year for 2011 and 2012 by National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

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